The following description relates, in general, to flatbed type fluid filters.
Filtration apparatus is used to remove solid contaminates from fluids used in manufacturing operations. In automobile assembly plants, the assembled sheet metal vehicle body is washed prior to painting operations. Other industrial operations involve machining of parts. The machined parts are washed to remove chips, cutting fluid residue, and other solids and particulate material.
In order to conserve resources, the wash fluid is recycled. The fluid is passed through a filtration apparatus which removes solids and other particulate materials so that the cleaned fluid may be recycled for further use in the industrial operations.
One type of filtration apparatus used in industrial operations is a flat-bed type filter in which a filter media in the form of a thin, porous strip is indexed through a chamber containing a reservoir of fluid from industrial operations. Gravity or pressure pulls the fluid through the filter media thereby removing solids and particulates from the fluid. The cleaned fluid is then recycled to the industrial operation. The solids and particulates collect on the filter media and are removed dirty as the filter media indexes out of the filtration apparatus.
Due to the high volume of wash fluid that is passed through the filter media for cleaning, the filter media rapidly clogs with the solids and particulates removed from the industrial fluid. The filter media is frequently indexed to bring clean filter media into the chamber to continue to clean the wash fluid. The solids and particulates form a cake or residue in the filter media which retains the solids and particulates in the filter media as the filter media exits the chamber to a waste receptacle.
Due to the porosity of the filter media, which may be as low as 10 microns, small particulates, particularly, metal particulates can pass through the filter media and then be recycled with the clean fluid back to the industrial operation.
It would be desirable to improve a filtration process using a filter media to clean wash fluids by removing a greater portion of metallic particles from the wash fluids as the fluid passes through the filter media.